villain

villain
[[t]vɪ̱lən[/t]]
villains
1) N-COUNT A villain is someone who deliberately harms other people or breaks the law in order to get what he or she wants.
2) N-COUNT The villain in a novel, film, or play is the main bad character.
3) PHRASE: villain inflects If you say that someone is the villain of the piece, you are saying in a slightly humorous way that they are seen by some people as the cause of all the trouble in a particular situation.

If Mr Denny is indeed the villain of the piece, as the police claim he is, he should have been more carefully watched.


English dictionary. 2008.

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  • Villain — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Erwin Villain (1898–1934), deutscher Arzt und SA Führer Raoul Villain (1885–1936), französischer Nationalist Marcel Brun, Pseudonym Jean Villain (1928–2006), Journalist und Schriftsteller Jean Villain… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Villain — Vil lain, n. [OE. vilein, F. vilain, LL. villanus, from villa a village, L. villa a farm. See {Villa}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Feudal Law) One who holds lands by a base, or servile, tenure, or in villenage; a feudal tenant of the lowest class, a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • villain — c.1300, base or low born rustic, from Anglo Fr. and O.Fr. villain, from M.L. villanus farmhand, from L. villa country house (see VILLA (Cf. villa)). The most important phases of the sense development of this word may be summed up as follows:… …   Etymology dictionary

  • villain — villain, scoundrel, blackguard, knave, rascal, rogue, scamp, rapscallion, miscreant can all denote a low, mean, and reprehensible person utterly lacking in principles. Villain describes one utterly given to crime, evil, and baseness {are not made …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • villain — villain, villein The two spellings are forms of a single word with two branches, originally meaning either ‘a low born rustic’ or ‘a serf in the feudal system’ and derived from the Latin word villa meaning ‘country house or farm’. The spelling… …   Modern English usage

  • Villain — Vil lain, a. [F. vilain.] Villainous. [R.] Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Villain — Vil lain, v. t. To debase; to degrade. [Obs.] Sir T. More. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • villain — index convict, criminal, hoodlum, malefactor, wrongdoer Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • villain — [n] evil person antihero, blackguard*, brute, caitiff, creep*, criminal, devil, enfant terrible*, evildoer, heel, libertine, lowlife*, malefactor, mischief maker*, miscreant, offender, profligate, rapscallion, rascal, reprobate, scoundrel, sinner …   New thesaurus

  • villain — ► NOUN 1) a person who is guilty or capable of a crime or wickedness; a wrongdoer. 2) a character in a novel or play whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot. DERIVATIVES villainous adjective villainy noun. ORIGIN originally in the …   English terms dictionary

  • villain — [vil′ən] n. [ME vilein < OFr vilain < VL villanus, a farm servant < L villa, a farm: see VILLA] 1. a person guilty of or likely to commit great crimes; evil or wicked person; scoundrel 2. a wicked or unprincipled character in a novel,… …   English World dictionary

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